"Oooh" the Wise & Avid sing, "could we want another thing? Joseph shearlings, Maxmaras, handbags covered all in stars..."

[LetThemEatCake]

following on from bunny's festive lead ....

Thinking of you Blossoming.

Zembo - I would not have said they are mutton.

Thinking of you and your family today Bloss.

Thinking of you today Bloss.

Bloss hope today is as OK for you as it can be.

Everyone, I have disappeared again, life is so hectic I just can't keep up - we are off to Australia tomorrow night and it's a very complex trip (involving Sydney and nice clothes, work clothes, and holiday island near Perth with only play things and lots of self catering and useless inlaws so have to organize everything myself). We are only going for 3 weeks so I am very stressed about the whole thing and it is not helped by DH who is totally hopeless at packing at the best of times and is always working. But it will be SUNNY!!!

Cakey and the other Sydney girls, where should I be Wise and Avid in the shopping dept? Dh has redeemed himself by agreeing to take me to Tetsuya, we have made booking :)

Will catch up now on thread but hope you are all well.

Roary we are going next week!!

Have a great time!

It will be sunny and hot!

Marsha are you yet another AUssie?

(should we do a Sydney W&A meetup?) :)

Born in UK, parents there. Going back to show off the gc . Not Sydney though. Can't wait!

Are you looking forward to the flight?

Have you done the flight before Marsha with the GCs? We did it with DD1 (once with just me, once with me and DH). It was fine when she was a baby. I am a bit more worried now she is 2.5, as the jetlag when we went to Canada was a nightmare. Flight strangely fine even though I was on my own with DD and DS (then 4 months). Now my only concern is what to feed 8 m old DS and the entertainment factor. We are drugging DD with Phenergan for the first leg and have a loaded IPad and headphones and audiobooks for the second half, plus the inflight system.

To be totally blunt DH is completely impractical and it is a bit like having a third child anyway ont he plane - before we had kids we once had to go to some complicated lost and found place to get his wallet which he had left on the plane!

Vin - yes, DD1 is mostly better (she is now drinking her bottles and eating a bit so is clearly on the mend). Only I think she is still contagious so poor sweetie is missing out on her playgroup Christmas parties (she has 2 playgroups). So disappointed for her. And perhaps a little for myself as was looking forward to dressing her in her nice dresses. She has been in trousers/jeans for the last little bit and I want to get the silver Hebes out and put her in a nice dress. Vacuous Mummy... How is P is for Prick? Bugger about bad day at work, although fantastic that you have a potential course to look forward to!!

Haven't read posts so apologies for rudeness but I wanted to pop online to say bloss am thinking of you and your family today. Hugs, salmon and prayers.

I've done it loads with ds1 by myself and with dh. First time with two dc.

Ds1 will be fine as is 5 and will love watching movies etc. Ds2 will probably want to do aisle runs. The worse age I found, for tiredness, was toddler as you end up doing so much walking with them.

Also it does feel harder each time so we do premium economy now for reasons of sanity!

Ok so you have a 2.5 and an 8 month. Your dh will have to do half the work. Walking your dd around or holding your ds. Usually there are other sympathetic parents on the flight.

Are you doing it all in one go?

Ooh Roary - do you enjoy a little outing in the CBD ie Strand Arcade and surrounding shops? The David Jones on Elizabeth and Market Sts is worth a browse through, and nice to get a great tub of fruit salad in the Food Hall. Alternatively, I always liked to start at the "top" of Oxford St in Paddington (at Lisa Ho) and wander down until the shopping stops (around about Sportsgirl). I used to live just off Oxford St and could cry at the thought of a wander down there in the warm weather. Might be worth popping into a Witchery if you fancy a little accessory shopping. If the weather is bad, though, perhaps the Westfield at Bondi Junction (v like the Westfield here - both "Black Label" shopping malls). If you fancy a nice cocktail w your DH post Tetsuya, how about Hemmesphere on George St? There are lots of great places in Darlinghurst, too, such as The Victoria Rooms. Obv my information is about 3.5 years old and reflects my pre-DCs lifestyle!!!

One good thing I did with ds1 was wrap cheap stuff (old or new) and space out giving him stuff. So he would get restless and I would say oh ds here's this thing! Would give me half hour. It is long! I forget each time.

Roary - on our first flight w DD1, DH lost his iPhone and forgot to pack DD's dummies in the carry-on luggage (his 1 task and she is dummy dependent). I didn't say a word. Have you got lists? I am the Grand Master List Maker and found it v soothing as it gave the illusion things were under control. I doffs me hat at taking 3 2 children on an international flight.

Have a fantastic trip roary. Are you getting a child seat for DD? (One of the car-seat type five point harness ones) We didn't have one for DS3 on the way to the US in the summer but did on the way back and found it much easier with one. He was 2.5 then too. I think he found it easier to relax and settle to doing things (and even sleeping) when it was like being in the car rather than a lap belt that he could wriggle out of. Of course on the way back it was an overnight and he was more tired, but I think I'd go for the child seat for the day time leg if we were doing it again.

Entertainment-wise stickers, crayons and food were the biggest hits. Good luck!

sorry just a quickie (I'm not ignoring anyones posts...just can't read - as I'm at work).

Tracey - have pm'd you can you just check your inbox.

I'm getting a little jittery as my throat is starting to hurt and everyone one around me has been knocked out by flu. please please let me be well for Sunday! i'd dosing up on vits like a mad women

Oh and if she likes singing roary, we took a little bag with cards in for DS3, and on each card was a picture which related to songs he liked. This is the way we do song time at toddlers group, and he would pick a card and we'd sing that song or rhyme to him.

Oooh, W&A ladies, how I love you :) You always have such sound (and funny) advice.

Bunny your degree of mumsnetting with twins and a toddler is a true acheivement - I am so impressed, and I take it as a sign that you are feeling calm and in control (relatively?). Well done you.

ABO will be in touch in the NY about the shirt - life has gotten away from me. We haven't done a car seat because DD actually travels very rarely in the car, so it is not much more familiar. ALso ours weighs 10 tons.

bunny that sounds divine. Will leave inlaws in charge I think and do just that. Ahhhh...David Jones foodhall. But in the past I have to say I have found Australian shopping all a bit same-y. I was broke when we lived there though so restricted to high street, which I find has less selection (fewer nice brands).

DH will have to step up but travelling is just not his Best Thing anyway, so it will be tricky - he needs lots of help to remember all his gear so I do feel like I am keeping track of 3 people. He is pretty good about the holding of children etc but just forgets that he can't watch 3 movies and read his book the whole time. And he has to been in charge of looking after his own self, as DD would say.

Best tip from me, Marsha. Never allow walking down the aisle, if it is DS2's first trip. Pretend the airplane is a bus and you Do Not Walk in the Aisle and then you save yourself the endless pacing. My SIL suggested this and it really does work. It depends I suppose on if you want to add walking to your arsenal of distractions!

My efforts to find little bits and piece as have been a bit thwarted - stickers, yes, but we have no dollar store (I mean pound store, you know what I mean) and the works was bloody useless. We will take some playmobil people though.

ooh, marsha, yes all in one go - in the past I have found it more of a PITA to get everyone on and off and unpacked and sleeping then to just fight through the pain. We'll see this time. Seriously regretting not getting premium economy.

Ca you tell I am reading a v boring chapter for one of my grad students? I am meeting him at 2 so must get skates on.

Good morning - Bloss - much love to you and your family.

Bunny - you do so make me laugh

Have just had some drawers delivered for kitchen for shoving children's shoes etc in - very nice and lovely delivery drivers who took away all the packaging. Must say the amount of cardboard I have does get on my nerves.

Have a lovely holiday Roary.

Yes us too. We don't do stop overs. Although had our honeymoon in Tokyo on way back once! That was fabulous.

PE is ok, a lot for a few inches of leg room. The parentals flew business on way here and were upgraded to first. Lucky people!

Ds now asleep finally!! work time.

before I do here's a bunny style question for you all to ponder....

At 22 in NY I tried on an Azzedine Alaïa dress. Thick black stretchy tank-type top and little thick ruffle skirt, it was ace but I didn't buy it. I wish I had.

So which designer do you think best reflects what you were like at 22??

Me, Azzedine Alaïa and Carven.

You?

(This isn't what you did wear btw, we were probably all students! But how you see yourself when you now look back)